Crew Airlifted to Safety

On May 25, shortly after 9:00 p.m., the five-person crew of F/V ST. JOSEPH sent out a mayday that they’d lost steering in 20-foot seas, about 52 miles southeast of Cordova, Alaska. F/V HEIDI LINEA relayed the mayday to the Coast Guard, which sent an MH-Jayhawk helicopter to the area. The helicopter arrived around 11:00 p.m. and successfully hoisted the five crewmembers to safety.
ST. JOSEPH then remained adrift until she was located grounded on a sandy beach between Yakutat and Kayak Island on Saturday morning. A motor vehicle and a large storage container, which had been thrown from the vessel, were also located on the sand washed up not far from ST. JOSEPH.

According to reports, ST. JOSEPH had been on en route to Cordova to tender for Copper River Seafoods. No injuries and no fuel leakage or pollution are reported. A Coast Guard investigation is underway to determine the cause the steering failure, and the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Valdez is working with the owner to organize salvage of ST. JOSEPH and her approximately 1,400 gallons of diesel.